for some reason and limitation of 2D STL format is failed to create compound part. so i’m thinking mesh it separately to be merge in FE models, however the node coincident did not merge and still keep it separated.
is this limitation or the design approach with another purpose? may it be possible to merge coincident/duplicated nodes were it’s common feature in FE software.
tie constraint or tied contact can be easily generated in PrePoMax, but merging coincident nodes is the effective workflow due to duplicated node coordinates.
I can confirm that there’s an error (very long generic message) when trying to create a compound part out of these two parts and that merging them in the FE Model tab doesn’t actually connect the nodes, as can be seen in the results. Maybe this could be fixed.
Compound parts are only possible for the CAD geometry and should not be possible for the .stl geometry.
Merge parts is a feature that was created in the beginnings of the PrePoMax development. It is an opposite feature of the Convert element set to part feature. It is only meant to assign elements from two separate parts to one common part and does not change the mesh at all.
So for the functionality you need, new features would be needed. Something like Merge mesh and Split mesh.
it could be better to disable compound part of STL files in geometry modules if not supported.
an option to merge nodes with coincident/same coordinates or called merge mesh is common in FE software.
more simple ways rather defining node/face for tie constraint or tied contact definition. also, not making conflict when penalty contact available there.
Of course, you are right. However, merge option can be used successfully only when meshes in the contact zones are compatible and corresponding nodes nearly coincide. IMHO Netgen version used inside PPM for mesh generation does not allow to define mesh density on edges or surfaces so precisely. Perhaps you should simply use another mesher (like GMSH) in such a case.
